Possible routes round the med

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chrisrixon

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Have reached the bottom of Portugal and am aiming to go to Turkey next year and back to the Canal du Midi Next. Has anyone any advice on a good route that optimizes wind etc? I hve Rod Hienkels book but good on getting here doesn´t suggest ways round the Med ....

Also when does winter start and end from a point of safe sailing in the Med. I am wondering how long I can keep sailing until I need to lay up.

Any advice, web links, books etc greatfully recieved.

Chris.
 
The Italian Waters Pilot and Greek Waters Pilot are very good and certainly worth a good look at even if you don't end up buying them.

As far as laying up is concerned, that's largely depends how enjoyable you want your sailing to be.

I did a delivery from the South of France (St. Raphael) to Greece this February and although it was cold and sometimes windy it was certainly sailable. I wish I'd had a lot more time to enjoy Sardinia and around Messina. The volcanic islands north of the Medina Strait are spectacular, night or day, if you don't mind clanging your hull between floating rocks in the tidal swirls.

Greece wasn't up to much at that time of year although I guess it was a novelty to be the only yacht sailing in the Ionian.
 
How big was the boat and how much crew did you have?

Also were you worried about the dreaded mistrals etc?

Thanks Chris.
 
From September to mid October last year I did a virtual solo from France to Gib. (my wife was aboard as a passenger)With plans to go on through to Turkey, unfortunately I found it very cold in the Med in November and headed south. My Med passage plan to Turkey had only had two or three days of overnight trips, the rest could be done almost from dusk to dawn.

I planned to just sit and wait for good winds or maybe none before moving on.
 
That,s what i,m planning, well see how it gos.
When you say cold, how cold, surely much warmer than UK for the time of year?
 
I have not spent a winter in UK in a very long time. Living indoors is one thing on a yacht is another. Cold is having to wear long johns in bed.
 
Why lay up at all?

We spent last year sailing around the med and found it to be better in winter. We kept meeting boats in Harbours who had laid up and were tellihng us that it 'too rough' to sail out there as we came into harbour having enjoyed great sailing - we always waited for a calm or tailwinds anyway.

The harbours were less crowed and anchorages empty. You just need to keep an eye on the weather. Navtex, Internet (try WWW.WEATHERONLINE.CO.UK) this UK/German site is great for the MED and Europe, SSB. In Spain you get good forecasts in ENGLISH every 2 to 4 hours on VHF. The things to watch out for in the winter are the LOWS which come in various forms in the gulf of GENOA, comming in from North africa or in from the atlantic

Generally the winter in the med is similar to a Nothrern European summer. It can be cold sometimes but you can sail all year round if you keep an eye on the weather. We found Morocco in January to be about 20 degress in the day and 10 at night. Northern italy can get snow as well as Barcelona but you can avoid this with planning.

Goos sailing

Kevin & Susie Harris
SY Temptress Of Down

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Temptress of Down
 
Hello All .When i went out to work on the boat in Aigina Greece , In Feb ,It was shorts and T shirt in the daytime but very cold at night down to about 3C I did not go sailing because the boat was on the hard . But if I could have I would Cheers Bob T

Bob T
 
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